SPIRITS & COCKTAILS

So, who is this 'Tom Collins' character anyway?Tom Collins is both a beverage (basically gin with sparkling lemonade) and a hoax. Ever heard of the Great Tom Collins Hoax of 1874? The prank began as a game, in which someone would ask another if he'd seen Tom Collins, going on to say that this character (who didn't really exist) had been spreading rumors about him. This would infuriate the individual who would go looking for this 'Tom Collins' fellow, only to find out that he never really existed, leaving the individual feeling foolish.